Sri Lanka investment board approves $442 million Adani Green wind power plants


The logo of the Adani group is seen on the facade of one of its buildings on the outskirts of Ahmedabad

Wed, February 22, 2023 

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's Board of Investment on Wednesday approved two wind power plants by India's Adani Green Energy Ltd with a total investment of $442 million, a statement issued by the board said.

"The two wind power plants of 350 MW are scheduled to be commissioned in two years and accordingly, they will be added to the national grid by 2025," the statement added.

Adani Green Energy is the renewable energy unit of the embattled Adani Group, whose seven listed companies have lost some $125 billion in market value after a U.S. short seller last month alleged improper use of tax havens and stock manipulation by the apples-to-airports conglomerate.

The Adani Group has denied any wrongdoing.

Sri Lankans have been struggling with rolling powers cuts for over a year as the country struggled to generate sufficient amounts of thermal and coal power, which has pushed the government to fast track renewable energy projects.

The island nation hiked power prices by a hefty 66% last week, part of efforts to nail down a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as it struggles to find a way out of its worst financial crisis in more than seven decades.

A group of Adani officials are in Colombo to evaluate multiple projects with Sri Lanka. The conglomerate is also involved in building a $700 million terminal project at Sri Lanka's largest port.

The Sri Lankan Board of Investment statement said the Adani wind power project will generate 1,500 to 2,000 new job opportunities.

Sri Lanka also aims to export renewable energy from its northern areas to southern India.

(Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe in Colombo; Writing by Shivam Patel; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Bill Berkrot)

Canada to support Iranian temporary residents, citing crackdown on Iran protests


Buildings in Ottawa are illuminated in Iranian colours

Thu, February 23, 2023 
By Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) - The Canadian government on Thursday announced support for Iranian temporary residents in Canada looking to extend their stay, citing the Iranian government's crackdown on recent protests.

"Effective March 1, 2023, these measures will make it easier for Iranians who wish to extend their temporary status in Canada and to move between temporary streams, allowing Iranians to continue studying, working or visiting family by applying for a new permit from inside Canada," the Canadian government said in a statement on Thursday.

Nationwide protests erupted in Iran last fall after the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini in police custody on Sept. 16 last year.

Amini was arrested in Tehran by the morality police for flouting the hijab rules, which require women to entirely cover their hair and bodies, and died in custody. Anti-government demonstrations over her death have damaged the Iranian clerical establishment's legitimacy at home and abroad. Many Western states, including Canada, have imposed sanctions following a harsh state crackdown on protests.

The Canadian government said an open work permit pathway will be made available for Iranians already in Canada, adding that applications from Iranians in Canada will also be processed on a priority basis.

Canada also said it was waiving certain processing fees for Iranians who wish to extend their stay in Canada, and will also waive passport and permanent resident travel document fees for citizens and permanent residents of Canada in Iran who wish to leave.

"Canada will not stand idly by in the face of these aggressions as the Iranian regime continues its ongoing human rights violations," Canadian Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said on Thursday.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Bird flu kills 11-year-old girl in Cambodia, officials say

An 11-year-old girl in Cambodia has died from bird flu in the country's first known human H5N1 infection since 2014, health officials said, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. 






Ducks swim in a pond in a Snoa village farm outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. 

(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

SOPHENG CHEANG
Thu, February 23, 2023

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — An 11-year-old girl in Cambodia has died from bird flu in the country's first known human H5N1 infection since 2014, health officials said.

Bird flu, also known as avian influenza, normally spreads in poultry and wasn’t deemed a threat to people until a 1997 outbreak among visitors to live poultry markets in Hong Kong. Most human cases worldwide have involved direct contact with infected poultry, but concerns have arisen recently about infections in a variety of mammals and the possibility the virus could evolve to spread more easily between people.

The girl from the rural southeastern province of Prey Veng became ill Feb. 16 and was sent to be treated at hospital in the capital, Phnom Penh. She was diagnosed Wednesday after suffering a fever up to 39 Celsius (102 Fahrenheit) with coughing and throat pain and died shortly afterward, the Health Ministry said in a statement Wednesday night.

Health officials have taken samples from a dead wild bird at a conservation area near the girl's home, the ministry said in another statement Thursday. It said teams in the area would also warn residents about touching dead and sick birds.

Cambodian Health Minister Mam Bunheng warned that bird flu poses an especially high risk to children who may be feeding or collecting eggs from domesticated poultry, playing with the birds or cleaning their cages.

Symptoms of H5N1 infection are similar to that of other flus, including cough, aches and fever, and in serious cases, patients can develop life-threatening pneumonia.

Cambodia had 56 human cases of H5N1 from 2003 through 2014 and 37 of them were fatal, according to the World Health Organization.

Globally, about 870 human infections and 457 deaths have been reported to the WHO in 21 countries. But the pace has slowed, and there have been about 170 infections and 50 deaths in the last seven years.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus earlier this month expressed concern about avian influenza infections in mammals including minks, otters, foxes and sea lions.

“H5N1 has spread widely in wild birds and poultry for 25 years, but the recent spillover to mammals needs to be monitored closely,” he warned.

In January, a 9-year-old girl in Ecuador became the first reported case of human infection in Latin America and the Caribbean. She was treated with antiviral medicine.

Tedros said earlier this month that the WHO still assesses the risk from bird flu to humans as low.

“But we cannot assume that will remain the case, and we must prepare for any change in the status quo,” he said. He advised for people not to touch dead or sick wild animals and for countries to strengthen their surveillance of settings where people and animals interact.

WAIT, WHAT?!

Analysis-Why public health officials are not panicked about bird flu


 New bird flu wave in France raises fears deadly virus here to stay

Thu, February 23, 2023 
By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A new strain of bird flu that transmits easily among wild birds has triggered an explosive spread into new corners of the globe, infecting and killing a variety of mammals species and raising fears of a pandemic more lethal than COVID-19.

But the very changes that have allowed the virus to infect wild birds so efficiently likely made it harder to infect human cells, leading disease experts told Reuters. Their views underpin global health officials' assessments that the current outbreak of H5N1 poses low risk to people.

The new strain, called H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b, emerged in 2020 and has spread to many parts of Africa, Asia and Europe as well as North and South America, causing unprecedented numbers of deaths among wild birds and domestic poultry.

The virus has also infected mammals ranging from foxes and grizzly bears to seals and sea lions, likely from feeding on diseased birds.

Unlike earlier outbreaks, this subtype of H5N1 is not causing significant disease in people. So far, only about a half dozen cases have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) in people who had close contact with infected birds, and most of those have been mild.

"We think the risk to the public is low," Dr. Timothy Uyeki, chief medical officer of the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Influenza Division, said in an interview. The WHO expressed a similar view in an assessment earlier this month.

The way this virus enters and infects cells is one reason for the muted concern, flu experts told Reuters. They say the attributes that have made this virus thrive in wild birds likely make it less infectious to people.

"It's clear that this is a very, very successful virus for birds, and that almost excludes it from being a very, very successful virus in mammals," said Richard Webby, director of the WHO Collaborating Center for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds at St. Jude Children's Hospital.

Experts see the spillover into mammals as an early warning sign to step up virus surveillance rather than a signal of a new pandemic.

"Everybody take a breath," Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota who has tracked H5N1 since it first emerged in 1997, said of those sounding alarm bells.

WHAT ABOUT THE MINKS?

What raised concern among virologists was a study published in January in the medical journal Eurosurveillance showing potential mammal-to-mammal transmission of the virus on a mink farm in Spain.

"It is highly plausible that a virus capable of mink-to-mink transmission is capable of human-to-human transmission," Michelle Wille, an expert in the dynamics of wild bird viruses at the University of Sydney, said in an email.

That is a scenario that disease experts have been warning about for decades. Mink share many attributes with ferrets, an animal often used in flu experiments because of their similarity to humans.

Although the exact changes required for a bird flu virus to become easily transmissible in people are not known, a pair of landmark studies done a decade ago offer some clues.

Using so-called gain of function experiments, scientists intentionally altered the H5N1 virus to make it transmissible in ferrets and found that as few as five highly specific mutations were required.

Most of the mammalian cases so far have had only one of these mutations - in a gene called PB2 - which was present in the mink. Webby said the virus can make that change easily.

What has not changed, even in mink, is that the virus still prefers to bind to avian-type receptors to enter and infect cells. Mink have both avian and human-type receptors, but avian receptors are scarce in humans and located deep in the lungs.

Human flu viruses typically bind to receptors found in the upper respiratory tract.

"We know that avian viruses can occasionally affect people, but it takes what appears to be lots and lots of contact with birds," said James Lowe, a professor of veterinary clinical medicine at the University of Illinois.

According to the CDC's Uyeki, studies of the H5N1 genetic sequences in the mink outbreak "do not indicate any changes that suggest increased ability to infect the upper respiratory tract of humans."

That change is a must if a bird flu virus is to spread easily in people.

"The saving grace for humans right now is it seems that it's really, really difficult for this virus to switch receptor preference," Webby said.

None of the experts discounted the possibility that H5N1 or another avian flu virus could mutate and spark a pandemic, and many believe the world has not seen its last flu pandemic.

"Should we keep an eyeball out for this? Yes," Lowe said. "Should we lose our mind over it? Probably not."

(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

IMPERIALIST COLONIALISM  FAILS

Biden official on Haiti: “Incredibly complex, challenging.” Still no respite in sight

Jose A. Iglesias/jiglesias@elnuevoherald.com

Jacqueline Charles
Thu, February 23, 2023 

The Biden administration is defending the slow pace of financial sanctions against Haitian politicians and business leaders, saying that the United States’ evidentiary standard is much stricter than that of most countries and any decision needs to be corroborated by evidence.

“Each country has its own legal authorities, which can make it a little bit confusing to track what each country is doing,” a senior State Department said in a press call Thursday with reporters about the deteriorating situation in Haiti. “We have to bring more evidence to the table and corroborate that evidence.”

The U.S. has publicly named five Haitians nationals, four of whom are politicians, whose assets have been frozen or who have been banned from traveling to the United States, or both, as part of financial sanctions. Meantime Canada has imposed the punishment on 17 Haitians. Ottawa’s list includes two former presidents, two former prime ministers and three high-profile businessmen.

Both governments have cited alleged ties to gangs, corruption and or drug trafficking in their announcements, though Canada’s lack of details has created consternation in recent days after it added a ormer interim president, Jocelerme Privert, to its list. Privert governed the country from 2016-17 and had been lauded by international observers for self-financing the presidential elections that brought Jovenel Moïse to power after elections had to be re-run due to fraud allegations.

The stark difference in the issuance of sanctions has been a source of debate by both supporters and critics of the measures, which Washington and Ottawa are increasingly turning to in hopes of stemming the rising tide of gang violence and instability in Haiti.

Extending their grip on the capital and beyond, gangs are increasingly behind a rash of deadly attacks on Haitian police officers, who after the death of 14 cops last month rioted in the streets and abandoned their posts.

The gangs are also showing that no one is immune from kidnappings for ransom. In recent days, the list of kidnapped victims have included the chief of protocol at the presidential palace and several doctors. Among them is a physician who serves as a political party leader; the spokesman for the ministry of health who has been keeping journalists inform about the cholera epidemic, and Dr. Geneviève Arty, pediatrician and founding member of St Damien Hospital, who hasn’t been heard from since her Feb. 2 abduction on the road to Frère in Port-au-Prince.

“We are in a situation where the [Haiti National Police] cannot defend itself or assure the security of the national territory,” said Samuel Madistin, a lawyer and chairman of the board of directors of Fondasyon Je Klere, a Port-au-Prince human rights group. “I don’t see how Haitians can get out of this without a massive training and intervention of young soldiers in the army, a cleaning and reinforcing of the police, and we can’t do that without the support of an international force.”

How U.S. sanctions turn people into ‘economic pariahs’ and why some call it a civil death

In October, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry asked for the deployment of international forces to the country. The request was supported by the U.S., which authored a resolution for the United Nations Security Council, and the U.N. Secretary General António Guterres. Guterres’ representative in Port-au-Prince, Helen La Lime, said last month that police cannot address the crisis on their own. Her comments came on the same day that seven police officers were killed during three attacks on their police substation in the rural Artibonite Valley.

On Wednesday, after police officers had already abandoned two police stations in the region, including one that was targeted in Liancourt, a third police station, in L’Estere, was emptied out after police could not longer hold out against the gangs.

“We are continuing to be seized with the security situation in Haiti. It is a tremendous challenge,” the senior State Department official said. “There’s no way to downplay the situation is critical, and the international community and and the Haitian polity need to come together to address it.”

He also downplayed concerns that the ongoing defections in the police were due to a new Biden humanitarian parole program. Henry told Caribbean Community leaders last week that soon after the program’s Jan. 5 announcement, 600 Haitian police officers had applied for passports to leave for the U.S. The head of the country’s immigration department told the Miami Herald that he estimated at least a third of the force’s 9,000 active members would leave based on passport demands that led him to open a separate passport office just for police.

Of the Haitians admitted into the U.S. under the program so far, the State Department official said “fewer than 20” were members of the Haiti National Police.

Acknowledging that the situation in Haiti remains “incredibly complex, challenging,” the official said the U.S. continues to hold talks “with potential partners in the Western Hemisphere, Africa and Europe” about supporting Haiti’s request for international help.

“But there’s also a big focus on the need for Haitian political actors to come together in a deeper way. And that was part of the conversation that really dominated in Nassau with CARICOM,” the official said, referencing last week’s gathering of leaders from the 15-member Caribbean Community trade bloc known as CARICOM in the Bahamas.

Some observers had hoped that Canada, which was represented by its prime minister, Justin Trudeau, would agree to lead the deployment of troops into the country. Instead, Trudeau spoke of his country’s aggressive sanctions measures and ongoing assistance to the embattled National Police. CARICOM later declined to support a foreign troop deployment in Haiti.

Despite the decision and Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis’s characterization in a strongly worded national address over the weekend that the bloc’s position was a response to the Haitian migration crisis, the Biden official said he remains optimistic about the Caribbean community’s engagement. Jamaica has said that the country is willing to deploy soldiers and that Prime Minister Andrew Holness remains determined to play a leadership role.

“One of the things that makes me somewhat optimistic is that CARICOM is finally engaging on this and in a more hands on way,” the State Department official said. “Coming out of Nassau, they did have an agreement to host Haitians and to visit Haiti and I think those are important steps.”

Also being viewed as an important step is a Dec. 21 agreement by Henry to form a High Transition Council, whose members include former First Lady and presidential candidate Mirlande Manigat. Since the council’s installation, Henry has also been engaged in hours-long discussions with other political actors about broadening the engagement.

“We continue to urge all stakeholders including Prime Minister Henry, the Montana Group and others to set aside their differences and compromise on a path forward for the country,” the official said. “I view the December 21 Accord as a positive step. But nonetheless, it’s been halting in its progress and we want to see greater political progress.”

Keith Mines, director for Latin America at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, believes the accord could be “the arrangement” many international partners are waiting for to directly support a reset of security in Haiti. He also adds that he believes Caribbean leaders last week “may have missed an opportunity in the tepid support” they offered to the political accord.

“The accord will only work if it receives full support and resources from an international community that has to date hid behind the mantra of ‘Haitian-led solutions,’” he said. “There are those Haitian-led solutions that still need a lot of help from Haiti’s friends to succeed.”

Meanwhile, the United States will continue to use sanctions, the Biden official said, adding that he looks forward to the results of a newly appointed United Nations panel of experts that is currently in Haiti. The panel is the result of the first sanctions regime voted by the Security Council in five years and the first ever in the Western Hemisphere.

“I’m encouraged by the work that they’re doing, and will do to identify new targets for multilateral sanctions,” the official said. “We’ve also imposed our own U.S. visa restrictions and financial sanctions on malign Haitian actors. [The] goal of our restrictions and financial sanctions are twofold: To disincentivize those who would impede political negotiations for their own benefit and to change the behavior of those who fund or otherwise support gang violence.”

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for HAITI 

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for BRANDO BURN

Electric Vehicles and the Untold Secret: Are They Actually Worse For The Environment and More Dangerous Than Gas?



Amir Bakian
Thu, February 23, 2023

Electric vehicles (EVs) are all the rage. They are touted as a cleaner and more sustainable alternative to gasoline-powered vehicles. The United States government has passed numerous legislative actions to phase out gas-powered vehicles and make sure that, within the near term, all vehicles are electric.

The common belief is that electric vehicles are more environmentally friendly and, in general, a safer form of energy. The dark secret: neither are true.

Currently the gold standard for all major electronic products, EV’s included, are batteries which are made of lithium-ion. The inventor of lithium-ion himself, after receiving the Nobel Prize, warned the world of the dangerous of lithium-ion batteries. So what are they?

Environmental Impact

The main concern associated with lithium-ion batteries is the mining of the raw materials needed to produce them, which can have significant environmental impacts. Lithium is typically extracted from salt flats, which can disrupt local ecosystems and contaminate groundwater. Cobalt and nickel, which are also used in lithium-ion batteries, are typically mined in countries with lax environmental and labor standards, which can lead to environmental damage and human rights abuses.


The production of lithium-ion batteries also requires a significant amount of energy, which is typically generated from non-renewable sources such as coal and natural gas. This means that the production of EVs can actually result in higher greenhouse gas emissions than the production of gas-powered vehicles.

Coal and natural gas, required to generate the power that charges lithium-ion batteries, are supplied through plants which themselves are releasing dangerous toxic waste, in some cases more that just burning regular gasoline.

Then there is the decomposition period. How long does it take for that used lithium-ion battery to decompose? Five years? 10? The answer: 100 years or more . Simply put, for 100 years after a battery has been used up it is slowing releasing potentially toxic byproducts into the environment, causing potentially more pollutants and more damage than traditional gasoline.

When these batteries are no longer useful, they can release toxic chemicals into the environment if they are not disposed of properly. This can lead to soil and water pollution, as well as harm to human health.

Another major drawback of lithium-ion batteries is their limited lifespan. Over time, the performance of the battery deteriorates, and eventually, it needs to be replaced. The lifespan of a battery depends on a variety of factors, including the number of charge and discharge cycles it undergoes, the temperature at which it operates, and how it is used. For example, exposing a battery to high temperatures or overcharging it can significantly reduce its lifespan. This leads to a continuous stream of battery waste that needs to be properly disposed of or recycled. The recycling process for lithium-ion batteries is also energy-intensive and can release toxic chemicals into the environment if not done properly.

But there is more.

THE DANGERS OF LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES

I am going to make a bold statement, but one that is true. Electric vehicles are basically a bomb on wheels, because of the lithium-ion batteries. I am sure its not a popular statement, but a factual one nonetheless.

Lithium-ion batteries, as confirmed by its own inventor, are seriously flawed and seriously dangerous.

Lithium-ion battery fires occur due to a number of factors, including manufacturing defects, physical damage, overcharging or overheating, and exposure to high temperatures or fire. A lithium-ion battery is more dangerous that an open gas tank filled with gas. Not only can the smallest penetration cause them to explode, a minor overheat, or even outside temperatures being to high, the real danger comes once it catches fire. A lithium-ion battery fire releases large amounts of heat, smoke, and toxic gases, which can pose a serious risk to human health and the environment.

One of the main reasons why lithium-ion fires are so dangerous is the rapid rate at which they can release energy. When a lithium-ion battery ignites, the heat generated can cause the electrolyte to break down, releasing large amounts of oxygen and hydrogen gas. This reaction can cause the battery to rupture or explode, releasing even more heat and toxic gases.
Once they catch fire the real problem begins

We have all seen race cars with fire extinguishers inside. In fact many older cars had small fire extinguishers just in case and many of us have emergency preparation kits in our trunks with a small fire extinguisher. Whether gas or powder, they do not work on lithium-ion fires. Rather, they will make them worse. Lithium-ion fires are nearly impossible to extinguish. Traditional methods of fire suppression, such as water or foam, are ineffective: they make the fire worse as these materials can cause the battery to release even more flammable gases, which can reignite and cause the fire to spread.

In general, when a lithium-ion battery catches fire, it can release large amounts of heat, smoke, and toxic gases, which can pose a serious risk to human health and the environment.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has conducted tests on lithium-ion battery fires in electric vehicles and found that these fires can reach temperatures of over 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 degrees Fahrenheit) and burn for hours or even days. In some cases, the duration and intensity of a lithium-ion fire depends mostly on the number of batteries in the car.

So how many batteries are in an average electric car?

Since Tesla’s are by far the most popular EV I decided to look at the Tesla models to see how many total batteries are in one car.

The Model S and Model X battery packs contain over 7,000 individual cells (batteries), while the Model 3 battery pack contains around 4,000 cells (Batteries). You read that right between 4,000 and 7,000 batteries.

The smallest of car accidents, a hot day, an internal leak, a nail that fell onto the highway and finds its way into the undercarriage can trigger just one of the 4,000-7,000 batteries, and once one battery goes, they all go: a 1,000 degree plus chemical fire that cannot be put out by any traditional method and burns for hours or days.

Furthermore, the toxic gases released by lithium-ion battery fires can pose a serious risk to human health. These gases can include carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen fluoride, which can cause respiratory problems, skin and eye irritation, and other health effects.

IF NOT GAS AND NOT LITHIUM-ION, THEN WHAT?

The race to find a new form of energy to replace lithium-ion is the trillion dollar race. Everything from cold-fusion to the idea of a “perpetual battery” is being worked on. The biggest names in technology are all in a race to solve this problem. Bill Gates is one of them.

Bill Gates recently took a company public called QuantumScape, a company who’s goal is to create a “solid-state battery”. They have raised billions of dollars of capital and currently have a market cap of $20 billion. What have they accomplished? As of today QuantumScape’s battery is more theoretical than executable.

QuantumScape’s mission statement is to create a solid-state battery that use a unique architecture and proprietary materials to achieve a number of advantages over conventional lithium-ion batteries. For example, solid-state batteries are expected to have higher energy density, which means they can store more energy in the same amount of space. This could enable longer driving ranges for electric vehicles, as well as longer run times for portable electronics.

In addition, solid-state batteries are expected to be safer than lithium-ion batteries, which can be prone to thermal runaway and catching fire. Solid-state batteries are less likely to catch fire and are less likely to release toxic chemicals or gases if they do catch fire.

While an exciting prospect, there has been no indication that QuantamScape has a plan to put its technology or batteries in mass production.

THE HOLY GRAIL? GRAPHENE

Graphene is a two-dimensional material consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice. It is incredibly strong, lightweight, and conductive, making it an ideal material for a wide range of applications.

Graphene is an excellent conductor of electricity, meaning that it can facilitate faster charging times. It is also much more durable than graphite, meaning that batteries made with graphene anodes could have longer lifespans. Furthermore, graphene can store more energy than graphite, making it possible to create batteries with higher energy densities.

Another advantage of using graphene in batteries is that it is a more environmentally friendly material than the metals and other materials used in current lithium-ion batteries. Graphene is made from carbon, which is a readily available and abundant resource, whereas many of the metals used in lithium-ion batteries are scarce and expensive.

There are dozens of companies who are working on “Graphene Batteries”. The biggest challenge that these companies face is that Graphene only works in its purest form, that is a single layer of carbon. Many companies can make graphene in multiple lawyers, which is simply a fancy word for graphite. And while it has many uses once an additional lawyer is added its conductivity and properties that make it an attractive alternative are significantly diminished. But there is one company who has figured out how to mass produce graphene and is quickly pulling out front from the pole position, Nanotech Energy.

Nanotech Energy has been making headlines in the tech world for its game-changing work in the realm of battery production. The company’s patented graphene manufacturing technology has positioned it as the exclusive owner of a key material for the creation of safer, more efficient, and faster-charging batteries. Nanotech Energy holds the very first patent for graphene, which was created by one of the most recognized scientists of our time, Rick Kanner.

Kanner patented the only known manner to chemically create graphene, which means the only way to mass produce graphene, which was the foundation of the launch of the company Nanotech Energy.

Kanner is a prominent researcher and inventor in the field of nanotechnology, and he is widely known for his pioneering work in the development of graphene. Kanner is also the holder of the patent for graphene, which is a groundbreaking material that has the potential to revolutionize a wide range of industries.

Kanner’s interest in graphene dates back to the 1970s, when he was studying for his PhD in solid state physics at the University of Pittsburgh. During this time, he became interested in the properties of carbon-based materials and began to explore the potential uses of graphene. Over the years, Kanner continued to study and refine his techniques for producing graphene, and he eventually developed a method for creating high-quality graphene sheets that was both scalable and cost-effective.

Kanner’s groundbreaking work in the field of graphene has been recognized by his peers, and he has received numerous awards and accolades for his contributions to the field of nanotechnology. In addition to his work on graphene, Kanner has also conducted research in a wide range of other areas, including superconductivity, photonics, and quantum mechanics.

Perhaps most important is that he patented the process for creating graphene in 2002, prior to the world even acknowledging the existence of graphene, and that along with dozens of other patents are held by Nanotech energy.

Nanotech Energy has been rapidly expanding its reach in the battery industry, securing close to $1 billion in contracts for its revolutionary technology from household names. The company recently purchased a 500 acre plot in Nevada and has begun construction on phase one of its new Graphene factory and rolling out the first graphene powered batteries the world has seen.

Nanotech Energy has already rolled out five generations of batteries and they are currently providing batteries to some of the biggest companies in the world. Nanotech has safety tested their batteries and shown them to be non-combustible, and have the high safety rating one can achieve. They store more energy, charge faster, do not lose their charge ability and do not have the negative environmental impact of their lithium-ion counterparts.

Nanotech Energy’s main facilities are in Chico, California, but they have recently expanded into Nevada where they are building what is believed to be the largest graphene producing facility in the world.

The future of energy storage is set to be transformed by Nanotech Energy’s revolutionary graphene-based batteries. With enhanced safety features, faster charging times, and longer-lasting performance, these batteries offer a significant advancement over conventional lithium-ion batteries. As the company moves towards mass production, the possibilities for the future of battery technology are endless.

The race to fix the lithium-ion debacle is on.

According to Grand View Research, the global battery market size was valued at $77.42 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.2% from 2021 to 2028. Other reports suggest that the market size could be even larger, with some estimates projecting it to reach over $100 billion by 2025.

Who gets there first is up in the air, but it seems that Nanotech Energy is far ahead of the pack, and with $100 billion a year up for grabs, this is surely going to be front and center sooner than later.

McClatchy newsroom and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.

After Aeromar's grounding, Mexico's aviation workers see turbulent horizon


Workers of the airline Aeromar hold a banner that reads "Ground personnel in support of pilots",at the Benito Juarez International Airport

Thu, February 23, 2023 
By Kylie Madry

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - After Mexican regional carrier Aeromar shuttered its operations last week, workers in the country's aviation sector are bracing for more turbulence as financial, legislative and safety barriers pile on.

While the heavily indebted Aeromar was a relatively small operation compared to peers, its closing is a symptom of a national problem, the flight attendants' union said Thursday, after a string of other airlines have closed.

In total, Aeromar left behind debts of around 7 billion pesos ($381.28 million), the union said, citing lawyers' estimates.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said last week that Aeromar had been "poorly run" and that unspecified legal action was being taken.

Lopez Obrador also touted the planned purchase of Mexicana, another defunct airline which the government plans to turn into a military-run commercial carrier.

Former Mexicana employees have yet to be liquidated and more than 100 lawsuits remain open from flight attendants' union members alone, the group said.

"We don't want that same error to be repeated (with Aeromar)," said union leader Ada Salazar. "In Mexico, remember that legal processes aren't quick."

Workers also fear that new legislation could create additional headaches for Mexican aviation.

A proposal to overhaul the sector - which unions and airlines overwhelmingly agree is necessary - is with Congress now, but the sector has spoken out against several of its terms.

Congress also passed a law Thursday giving Mexico's armed forces a more prominent role in airspace monitoring.

That has caused alarm, as has a measure to allow "cabotage," or give foreign airlines clearance to operate domestic routes within Mexico.

The chief executive of low-cost carrier Volaris said Thursday industry leaders had told the transportation ministry and lawmakers they "don't consider the opening of cabotage to be needed."

The changes are in a bid to recover Mexico's Category 1 aviation safety rating after being downgraded in May 2021 by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Lopez Obrador has argued "cabotage," as well as the creation of the military-run Mexicana, would benefit consumers.

($1 = 18.3594 Mexican pesos)

(Reporting by Kylie Madry; editing by Diane Craft)

Credit Suisse Cuts Property Fund Payouts as Withdrawals Mount

Jack Sidders
Fri, February 24, 2023 

(Bloomberg) -- Credit Suisse Group AG cut payouts on a 3.25 billion Swiss franc ($3.5 billion) real estate fund, as clients sought to pull their cash after valuations were hit by rising interest rates.

The Credit Suisse Real Estate Fund International’s net asset value is expected to drop as much as 10%, according to a statement Friday. That will likely limit distributions to investors to as low as 35 francs a share, down from 40 francs a share, it said. Investors holding about 13.3% of the fund’s shares have asked for their money back.

Rising interest rates are hitting real estate values globally, as the cheap money era in which real asset values soared comes to an end. While publicly traded landlords saw their share prices rapidly adjust to rising borrowing costs, private market valuations have been slower to update, and some investors in real estate funds have sought to redeem their cash before writedowns feed through.

“Global valuations were negatively impacted by rising interest rates for CS REF International in its key markets of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany,” Credit Suisse said in the statement. “Despite healthy rental results at attractive conditions, these were insufficient to offset the negative effects of rising interest rates.”

The fund’s top holdings include properties in Vancouver, Austin and Boston, according to a fact sheet.

In January, BlackRock Inc. suspended withdrawal requests on a £3.5 billion UK property fund, and Blackstone Inc’s $69 billion real estate trust hit a monthly redemption limit.

British scientists are the latest victims of the Brexit standoff

Jeremy Warner
Wed, February 22, 2023 

rishi sunak

Four economic shocks in a row – first the financial crisis, then Brexit, the pandemic and the energy price surge caused by Putin's war in Ukraine – have left Britain in the most terrible mess.

The national debt is at its highest level since the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, inflation is again above 10pc, the current account deficit is the highest in the G7, economic and productivity growth has ground to a halt, business investment is in the doldrums, and the savings rate is one of the lowest in the OECD.

Meanwhile, the National Health Service is in a state of evident meltdown, and from policing to education, rail and social services, more or less everything seems to be broken beyond repair.


As in the 1970s, when the UK was labelled the "sick man of Europe", we seem once again to be slipping into the sea, with little prospect of salvation. In truth, it is not quite as dire as then, but it is quite bad enough.

It is our patriotic duty to be optimistic for Britain's future, but as things stand it is ever harder to comply. The mood music around the UK's long term prospects has rarely been as downbeat as it is now.

Not everything is gloom and doom, admittedly. One repository of hope is the UK's science base, which remains a world leader in many fields. Yet even here, Britain is in danger of losing the plot. These sectors too are dying of neglect.

In a recent article for the Financial Times, Kate Bingham, who to great effect headed the UK's vaccine task force during the pandemic, warned that short term pressures from the cost of living crisis were crowding out the long term measures needed to support innovation.

In life sciences, the titans of the industry are reining back under pressure from rising levels of business taxation and the penny-pinching ways of the NHS's pricing regime. New investment in factories and research is increasingly concentrated in overseas jurisdictions deemed more business friendly.

At the other end of the spectrum, the decision to cut R&D tax credits is having an equally pernicious effect on many small, innovative, high tech companies.

Just as worrying, British academia finds itself barred from the EU's €95.5bn Horizon research programme, preventing participation in pioneering collaborative European research on the causes of disease and much else besides.

Even hardline Brexiteers tend to accept that Horizon is one of the EU's more worthwhile initiatives, which is why a special carve out for the programme was sought in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement governing Britain's future relationship with the EU. Theoretically, this guarantees continued UK participation.

Horizon has always been one of those areas of the EU budget where the UK gets more out than it puts in, so it was eminently worth preserving. Of the nearly 7,000 principal recipients of European Research Council grants under the Horizon 2020 programme, around a fifth were to UK institutions.

All this is now in jeopardy. Participation in Horizon has become another unfortunate victim of Britain's standoff with Europe over the Irish Protocol. While the politicians busy themselves with highfalutin points of principle on ECJ jurisdiction and the like, Britain's leading role in European research is going down the pan.

Uncertainty over future funding has left key university research roles unfilled, with Britain increasingly seen as no longer an attractive destination for top scientific talent. Visa applications left stuck for months in the blackhole of Home Office bureaucracy have exacerbated the problem.

UK based researchers can still apply for Horizon Europe funding, but successful applicants are unable to access the money until UK participation in the Horizon Europe programme is formalised, and this Brussels is refusing to do until the impasse over the Northern Ireland Protocol is resolved.

Government ministers accuse the EU of "politicising scientific cooperation", and of inappropriately linking participation in Horizon to the Protocol. They are right to do so; the linkage Brussels applies is of questionable legal validity. But there is not a lot they can do about it. In the end, it's the EU's programme.

Downing Street had hoped to settle the matter this week, to coincide with the first anniversary of Putin's murderous invasion of Ukraine. The Russian threat has had a unifying effect on Europe, and thereby helped to defuse some of the bad feeling over Brexit. The prize in settling the Protocol is a more harmonious relationship with Brussels, an easing of trade tensions, and continued participation in Horizon and other mutually beneficial joint programmes.

But politically, the Prime Minister is toast if forced to fall back on Labour support in the face of intransigent opposition from the Democratic Unionist Party and his own hardline Tory MPs to any compromise over Northern Ireland.

There is of course a fall back position for Horizon if agreement cannot be reached and Brussels goes through with its threat to shut Britain out – a so-called "Plan B".

This essentially involves simply reallocating the roughly £17bn British share of funding for Horizon and other joint programmes to UK determined research grants. There would also be further support for alternative collaborative agreements in other parts of the world as part of the Government's wider, Global Britain, ambitions.

Yet the scientific community is widely sceptical that this would provide anywhere near the same degree of benefit. Britain would in any case lose its attractions as a magnet for European talent without necessarily gaining it elsewhere.

As it is, Britain's perilous economic state is already proving a turn-off for many, threatening an outflux of high earners similar to that seen in the 1970s. It's not just uncertainty over future funding; it's also an increasingly uncompetitive tax system.

Ruinous levels of public indebtedness have left the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, caught between a rock and a hard place. The always unsustainable attempt to combine European levels of public spending with American levels of tax is no longer an option for Britain. It must choose one or the other, but it is proving a politically extraordinarily destructive process.

The more pain he inflicts on higher earners, the greater the danger of a brain drain. If alternatively he loads the burden onto business, it further discourages vital corporate investment.

In a perfect world, he'd return to the simplicity of the Lawson contract in the 1980s – a 25pc basic rate of tax and a 40pc higher rate. That way you would square the circle between tax and spend. But what hope in today's equality obsessed world of raising the basic rate while lowering the higher rate?

If settling the Irish Protocol helps ease trade tensions with Europe and ensures continued participation in Horizon, it should provide a degree of help to our beleaguered economy. But righting the ship is going to require so much more.

METROPOLIS 1921 

ILLEGAL ZIONIST OCCUPIERS

Israeli settlers shoot, wound 2 Palestinians in West Bank

Fri, February 24, 2023

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli settlers shot and seriously wounded two Palestinians in the northern occupied West Bank early Friday, Palestinian health officials said, in what authorities describe as the latest incident in a wave of settler violence.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said the two wounded Palestinians were being treated at a hospital in the village of Qusra, near the West Bank city of Nablus. It did not identify the men.

A group of armed settlers from a nearby outpost descended on the village and Palestinians went into the street to see what was happening late Thursday, said Ghassan Douglas, the Palestinian official who monitors Israeli settlements in the Nablus region. One of the settlers opened fire at the residents, hitting one man in the s tomach and another in the thigh. Douglas said the shooting was unprovoked.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli police or the Israeli military.

The northern West Bank in particular has seen a surge of settler attacks. Many villages in the area have gradually become sandwiched between settlements and unauthorized outposts that house particularly ideological settlers.

Last month, leading Israeli human rights group B'Tselem recorded a string of incidents near Nablus — from settlers attacking Palestinians with stones in Qusra to torching Palestinian cars in Aqraba. Earlier this month, a settler shot and killed a Palestinian in the farming town of Salfit.

“This kind of event we are now seeing here every few weeks," said Douglas, describing the settler violence as an attempt to push villagers off their land.

The United Nations recorded over 630 settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank last year, up from 496 in 2021. That includes property damage as well as physical assaults.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war. Palestinians seek those lands for a hoped-for independent state. At least 700,000 Israeli settlers now live in dozens of settlements that spread across the West Bank and are protected by the Israeli military.

Russia Sending More Arctic Crude To India And China


Editor OilPrice.com
Wed, February 22, 2023 at 4:00 PM MST·6 min read

On December 5, 2022, the G7, European Union, Canada, Japan and Australia began implementing a $60 price cap on Russia’s seaborne crude oil exports (see EDM, December 5, 2022), which China and India quickly capitalized on. Additional ceilings on petroleum products are expected later this year and are anticipated to have a far greater impact (Economic Times, January 17). In retaliation, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that countries abiding by the price cap and other sanctions will be banned from receiving Russian energy (Economic Times, December 28, 2022).

It is believed that this approach will help stabilize elements of global markets, primarily benefiting low- and middle-income countries, so long as Russia remains incentivized to keep producing (Orfamerica.org, December 14, 2022; Economic Times, December 25, 2022, January 10, 2023; Asiafinancial.com, January 16). The price cap will also minimally affect parties to the policy, as most already limited Russian energy imports last spring. However, as most shipping insurers and other vital elements of the industry are incorporated in the “Price Cap Coalition,” the majority of the world’s cargo companies will be subject to it. Notably, Russia may struggle to export from freeze-prone ports due to a reliance on foreign ice-class tankers—though China is bypassing this via the few ice-tankers Beijing and Moscow own (Ec.europa.eu, December 3, 2022; Alarabiya News, January 13).

Despite these sanctions, Russia claims an increase in oil production by 2 percent to 535 million metric tonnes, with exports growing by 7 percent. Similarly, in 2022, liquefied natural gas (LNG) production increased by 8 percent to 46 billion cubic meters, while gasoline and diesel production rose by 4.3 percent and 6 percent, respectively. Together, the oil and gas industries boosted “Russian budget revenues … in 2022 by 28 percent,” or $36.7 billion (Sputnik, January 16). Via LNG taxes alone, the Kremlin may increase revenue by $3.5 billion in 2023 (High North News, January 2).

Whether these figures are to be believed, it is clear that Moscow mitigated restrictions on its energy industries, partially by granting favorable prices to China and India (Economic Times, December 25, 2022; High North News, January 16). Illustrating this shift, for the first half of 2022, most of Russia’s Arctic oil exports went to Northern Europe; by the second half of the year, only about one-third were destined for the region; and by November, shipments had almost completely pivoted to Asia (High North News, January 16).

According to a survey of experts, a median estimate of China’s oil consumption in 2023 is a record 16 million barrels a day (Xinhua, January 13). Russian energy products are an essential element of this supply, surpassing Saudi Arabia as Beijing’s primary source of oil in 2022 and supplying about 4.5 percent of its gas needs (22.22 percent of imports). China’s current Arctic crude figures are difficult to find, but clearly, Moscow’s discounted prices ensure Beijing can cheaply meet its needs in the short term while encouraging long-term projects (e.g., Power of Siberia Two pipeline and the Northern Sea Route) (English.www.gov.cn, February 24, 2022; Iea.org, accessed October 26, 2022; The Barents Observer, December 8, 2022; Anadolu Agency, December 13, 2022).

These arrangements increase China’s leverage over Moscow, instead of making it dependent. For instance, Beijing is increasingly bypassing Russia’s land trade routes, and 56 percent of Chinese energy needs come from coal (importing less than 10 percent). Furthermore, China can source fuel from other countries as it pursues energy self-sufficiency and increased Arctic influence (see EDM, May 6, 2021, February 1, June 6, August 4, December 30, 2022; English.www.gov.cn, February 24, 2022; Hellenicshippingnews.com, January 16).

For the United States and its partners, India’s case is perhaps more concerning. From April through December 2022, Russia exported about 64,000 barrels per day (b/d) of Arco and Novy Port grade Arctic crude to India (Economic Times, January 5; Argusmedia.com, January 6; Gazprom Neft, January 10, 2017). By October, India’s largest crude source was Russia (22 percent) (Xinhua, November 6, 2022). By November, Russian exports to India were a record 6.67 million barrels of Arco, Novy Port and Varandey crude, with another 4.1 million barrels sent in December, when the latter grade was imported by India for the first time (Economic Times, January 5).

All told, from June through December 2022, Russia’s crude exports to India remained above 1 million b/d, achieving an “all-time high of 1.19 million b/d in December” (Argusmedia.com, January 6). Deliveries of the Varandey blend were set to double in January 2023, which would represent a new record, though official statistics on this were not available at the time of writing.

India’s consumption of Russian fuel is clearly driven by immediate interests, but what about longer-term interests? The country will almost certainly continue its purchases from Russia while expanding Arctic cooperation with Moscow, unless something alters its calculus. Notably, in 2022, New Delhi released its official Arctic and Antarctic policies (Moes.gov.in, May, August 6, 2022). Both are concerned with research, environmental protection and the rule of law, but the Arctic strategy is distinguished by its discussion of raw materials, trade, development and security. Although not explicitly mentioned in the Arctic and Antarctic strategies, Russia is to be a primary partner in achieving these goals, again with a heavy focus on energy and trade (Economic Times, December 17, 2022).

Between China’s desire to be the primary force in the Arctic—at least in Eurasia—and its bellicose rivalry with New Delhi, India’s presence in the Arctic may be yet another point of friction (see China Brief, November 18). However, Moscow, Beijing and New Delhi share similar cultural, political and economic interests that could encourage polar cooperation (Gjia.georgetown.edu, September 16, 2022; for counterarguments, see China Brief, October 19, 2022).

Since US President Joe Biden took office, political considerations have left the US without an ambassador to India, undermining the relationship (The Japan Times, January 11; The Print, January 17). The first step toward ending India’s reliance on Russia and potential enmeshment with China is remedying this vacancy. Additionally, key strategic developing nations should receive assistance to make the most of the energy prices while mitigating Putin’s threats. Finally, countries, including the US, are still importing Russian petroleum products via India and China (Times of India, January 15). It could be that identifying the source here is difficult, or perhaps it is considered acceptable because it keeps Russian prices and profits low. In either case, this merits closer examination.

By the Jamestown Foundation